Blazing Eyes and Burning Hearts
by enjolyrac
Summary: Camelot has fallen. There are whispers of rebellion in the streets - but there are choice few who can ensure that it happens. These few, however, fully intend to do so.


Camelot was once a great city, or so the citizens would tell a visitor with a shake of their head and a nostalgic air.

Camelot was once prosperous, they would say, and it had such potential. Once it was beautiful instead of rundown, and once the palace would light up at night instead of being shrouded in mournful darkness.

The visitor would look around with a curious air, and spot this grand palace on the hill at the centre of the city. Perhaps they would ask who lived there, but the only answer they would get would be 'the royals'. No news of this royal family, no polite comment on how well they're running the city. Nothing. Just 'the royals'.

One such visitor was Merlin, but he was greeted with no sad description of the past, nor a wishful glance at his neat clothing and well-kept belongings.

It was a clear Wednesday morning when he arrived at number three, Avalon Street. It was a doctor's practice, but like the other buildings in the city, it was unkempt and could do with being rebuilt. A worn sign outside proclaimed that this was the home and practice of Doctor N. Gaius, est. 2023. Twenty-seven years, Merlin counted in his head. That was a long time to keep a doctor's practice open in a city like this; though he supposed it must be necessary when the citizens were surely starving or ill constantly.

Knocking on the door, he shifted uncomfortably on the doorstep and adjusted his jacket nervously. His mother had always told him first impressions were everything, and although he would surely be leaving Camelot soon, he still wanted this person to like him if he were to live with them.

The door opened, and an elderly man opened it. His silvery hair was cut incredibly short like a convict's, and the lines on his face hinted at echoes of laughter long forgotten, but his eyes twinkled with friendliness and he smiled brightly at the boy standing on his doorstep.

"You must be Merlin." was the first thing he said, and Merlin nodded vigorously. "Your mother telephoned to let me know you were coming. I must say, another person in the house to talk to shall be enjoyable."

Merlin just smiled politely as he stepped over the threshold of the house after Gaius, closing the door behind him with a gentle click. The hallway was homely but had the normal feel of a surgery about it, and it made him a little uncomfortable. Gaius, however, quickly led the way through the corridor and out to the house at the back, stopping outside a door.

"This is your room." he explained, pushing open the door to a small but tidy room. Its walls were pale blue and the carpet was worn but still looked nice, covered by a rug next to the bed. In some ways, it was a lot like Merlin's little bedroom at home, and that was comforting. He set his bag down on the bed, smiling at the doctor.

"This is great." he replied, going back to the doorway. "Thank you for letting me stay with you, Doctor. I appreciate that times are hard around here."

Gaius shook his head, pursing his lips slightly as if to say that he didn't want to talk about it. "Please, just call me Gaius." he said with a wave of his hand. "It's just as pleasant having you stay with me as it is for you to stay here, Merlin; probably more so. You know where the palace is, don't you?"

"It's not hard to spot." was Merlin's amused reply. The palace was huge, and it looked like the only part of the city that was being upkept whilst the rest of it fell to ruins.

And so he did the following morning, following the gleaming reflections of the glass from the windows in the palace through the streets until he came to the gates. A guard, no doubt paranoid about intruders, only let him in once he'd shown him the letter of approval he had received from the royal court the previous week when he had attained the job of the prince's manservant.

They were right to be paranoid, for Merlin was an intruder, in a sense. He had only taken the job in order to gain more information about the inner workings of the city.

He had been told many years ago by a dragon that it was his destiny to free Camelot from itself. Now, most thirteen year old boys would have been frightened of a dragon sitting in their mother's farmyard, but Merlin wasn't most thirteen year old boys. This was betrayed by the fact he could move things with his eyes and perform illegal magic, as well as the fact he didn't have any reason to be afraid of dragons. His mother had always liked stories of them.

The king of Camelot, however, was a tyrant, and his hold on power in the city was so strong no-one had ever dared to try and break his iron grip before. Rumour had it that he had been driven to evil after his wife's untimely death, and some said he was simply a power-grabbing monster. Whatever the reason, he was a king to rival all fairytale villains, and Merlin was determined to change that even if he gave his life in doing so.

He was sure the prince would be the same. Arthur was his name, and being the prince, he was set to inherit the kingdom from his father. No doubt he had been brought up to believe that what his father had brought upon the city - economic collapse, poverty, and dictatorship - was right. The very idea of such a prince made Merlin scowl in anger, but nevertheless he would have to put up with it if he were to gain enough information to succeed.

His first meeting with the prince was different to what he'd expected, that was certain.

Upon knocking on the door, Merlin only had to wait a few seconds before it was opened. A young man around his own age stared back at him from the other side of the doorway, the polar opposite of Merlin himself. He was muscular to Merlin's skinny, blonde to Merlin's raven hair, and unsurprised to Merlin's definite shock. The only thing they appeared to share was piercing blue eyes, sparkling in the early morning light and narrowed at each other suspiciously.

"You're Merlin."

"You're Arthur?"

Arthur simply grabbed Merlin's arm and pulled him into the room, closing the door with a slam and making Merlin flinch.

"Tell me something. Do you like the city?"

This was a dangerous question. Merlin knew that, but he found himself shaking his head. He may as well sign his death warrant now rather than later, he thought. Maybe he could spark a fight about his untimely death. After all, every revolution needed a bit of bloodshed, didn't it?

"You don't like the way my father is running the kingdom?" Arthur would have appeared terrifying if it wasn't for the small smile hinting at his lips, and Merlin shook his head once again. This was evidently the right answer, because Arthur grinned. His eyes shone with mischievous delight, and his expression made Merlin question his previous assumptions about the young prince. Was it possible he didn't support his father's actions either?

"Great. That's excellent, he employed the right man." Letting go of Merlin's arm, he bounded to the other side of the room like an excited puppy before pausing and turning to look at the very confused manservant facing him. Merlin raised his eyebrows, evidently questioning what on earth this man had running through the brain beneath his straw-coloured hair.

"Have you used a gun before, Merlin?"


End file.
